"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Death is promised to the bee whose sting protects the colony.
Was its life worth nothing more than honey for the queen?
Life is a branch and it is a dove, hand crafted by confusing love.
Sign language is our reply when church bells make no sound.
In hollow towers and empty hives, we crave sweetness with a fear of heights.
Was it all just a grain of sand in an hourglass?
The smartest thing I've ever learned is that I don't have all the answers,
just a little light to call my own.
Though it pales in comparison to the overarching shadows,
a speck of light can reignite the sun and swallow darkness whole.
Death is a cold, blindfolded kiss.
It is the finger pressed upon our lips.
It puts an unwanted emphasis on how we should have lived.
Life is a gorgeous, broken gift.
Six billion pieces waiting to be fixed.
Love letters that were never signed, sent to where we live.
But the sweetest thing I've ever heard is that I don't have to have the answers,
just a little light to call my own.
Though it pales in comparison to the overarching shadows,
a speck of light can reignite the sun and swallow darkness whole.
Was its life worth nothing more than honey for the queen?
Life is a branch and it is a dove, hand crafted by confusing love.
Sign language is our reply when church bells make no sound.
In hollow towers and empty hives, we crave sweetness with a fear of heights.
Was it all just a grain of sand in an hourglass?
The smartest thing I've ever learned is that I don't have all the answers,
just a little light to call my own.
Though it pales in comparison to the overarching shadows,
a speck of light can reignite the sun and swallow darkness whole.
Death is a cold, blindfolded kiss.
It is the finger pressed upon our lips.
It puts an unwanted emphasis on how we should have lived.
Life is a gorgeous, broken gift.
Six billion pieces waiting to be fixed.
Love letters that were never signed, sent to where we live.
But the sweetest thing I've ever heard is that I don't have to have the answers,
just a little light to call my own.
Though it pales in comparison to the overarching shadows,
a speck of light can reignite the sun and swallow darkness whole.
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Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
"Death is promised to the bee/Who's sting protects the colony/Was its life worth nothing more/Than honey for the queen?"
This opening verse is a way of saying that death is guaranteed but also provides the mystery of whether the person's life (the bee) actually had an impact.
"Life is a branch and it is a dove/Handcrafted by confusing love"
These two lines make the statement that life is [or should be] peaceful (dove and olive branch=peace) but becomes complicated and almost misleading when love is implemented.
"We craved sweetness with a fear of heights/Was it all just a grain of sand in an hourglass?"
This line shows how daring people will be just for having the feeling of love or being cared for as well as implying the question if it's just a matter of time before that feeling fades
"Death is a cold, blindfolded kiss/It is the finger pressed upon our lips/It puts an unwanted emphasis/On how we should have lived"
These are the most powerful lines, in my opinion. It describes of death takes us in a cold, (upsetting) unknown (blindfolded) way. Along with that "It is the finger pressed upon our lips" states how we should go quietly, and in peace. Finally "It puts on unwanted emphasis on how we should have lived" is the time when we reflect on life but is most likely the time we don't want, for it is saddening and full of regret.
"Life is a gorgeous, broken gift/Six billion pieces waiting to be fixed"
This is two more powerful lines. It tells how life is a beautiful gift in millions of pieces and it is our job to put them together.
"Love letters that were never signed/Sent to where we live."
This is a small way of forming the realization that there's someone out there who is meant for us, and there are subtle hints around us that lead us toward that person. Typically the hints are left in activities that we do in our daily lives that someone else shares a common interest in.
~O.H - age 15
Oh wow this song! Stunning!! beautifully sung and written!
I think its about how death is always there, you never know when you'll be taken so you have to live life to the fullest and be happy for what you have and what you've done.
I like what is said above by OH. It is intelligent and eloquent, just like the song it describes.
Love this song. Questioning what is life all about because of death. How death fres us to slow down and reflect. Looking at how we have lived and are living. This song reminds me that we are all the same, none of us are alone. We are all bumbling through life as best we can. We are the 6 billion pieces waiting to be fixed. For me this song is a call to action. The action being to LIVE life because it's a gift, but it's short.